Texas School Board To Spend $1.2 Million To Rename Schools Honoring Confederate Leaders

Eight campuses are slated for name changes.

The Houston Independent School District voted in favor of providing more than $1.2 million to pay for the renaming of schools that honor Confederate leaders, The San Antonio Express-Newsreports.

Eight schools, named for Confederate leaders like Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, are slated for name changes. The high price tag includes the expense of changing signage, as well as replacing sports and band uniforms, The Express-News said.

The change has been divisive. Nine plaintiffs from the district sued the school board in June, alleging that the name changes were illegal and politically motivated, according to The Houston Chronicle.

Back in January, after voting 5-4 in favor of the name change, the board issued a statement explaining that the move was necessary “to represent the values and diversity of the school district,” the largest in the state, reported KXAN-TV. Most of those who spoke at the meeting opposed the decision.